They want more voices heard this Alberta election, so Calgary’s non-profit sector advocate is using their vast network to get people out to vote.
The non-partisan campaign is called #nonprofitsvote and the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations (CCVO) is hoping their collective voice can have an impact this provincial vote.
“There are all kinds of non-profits doing all kinds of work in communities and with individuals and so they address all kinds of issues,” said Alex Briggs, Manager, Policy and Research with CCVO.
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“If we can harness all that collective power to say that non-profits vote, we really feel like we can touch the lives of every single Albertan, and really at the root of this is that it’s really important to vote.”
With more than 26,000 non-profits in Alberta, and more than 400,000 people employed, Briggs said there’s a need to amplify the issues of those involved with these organizations across the province under the banner of getting out to vote, Briggs said.
“If everyone kind of leapt on the non-profit vote bandwagon, organizations can use to it promote their own issues and together show that we’ve got a collective voice of the non-profit sector.”
They’re not only hoping to spread the word among the different employees, board members and volunteers, but to the clients they serve as well.
To aid their cause, the CCVO has put together the Non-Profit Election Toolkit and online vote kit to help Alberta non-profits get involved in the campaign with different resources, tools and information.
It’s got a pledge-to-vote form, a printable tent card to place on a desk for people who are working with clients in the non-profit sector, to help engage people with the phrase “Ask me about voting,” and another area on their site with the election platforms.
It also includes a link to CBC Vote Compass, so even if people feel like they don’t have the time to research the issues, they can still take the vote compass to find out which party’s values most align with their own.
They’re also encouraging voters to take advantage of the province’s new Vote Anywhere program during the advanced vote from April 9 to 13, where people can cast their vote from anywhere in the province and have it count in their home riding.
“If we stay silent during an election campaign, we let other sectors drive the agenda, which can mean that we won’t see meaningful commitments from political parties on issues that matter to the non-profit sector” said Briggs.
